Add-A-Lane 128 Rte 9 cloverleaf

Issue summary

Throughout the week of July 27, 2015, Barletta Heavy Division (BHD), MassDOT’s contractor for the Route 128 Add-a-Lane Bridge V project, will continue construction operations. Work will be performed during both the standard working hours of 7:00AM to 3:00PM and third shift of 7:00PM to 5:00AM.

During the third shift, construction activities will be located on both Route 9 and Route 128 mainline and require the closure of two highway lanes, which is prohibited during standard working hours. Work on the mainline will include the installation of drainage in the median south of Kendrick Street and from the Railroad Bridge to Central Avenue, and the drainage component for a temporary cross over lane.

Within standard working hours, work will take place on the Kendrick Street Bridge, Central Avenue Bridge, and the Highland Avenue Bridge. At the Kendrick Street Bridge, the work will continue on the installation of walls, and forming, reinforcing, and pouring the west abutment wall. Also at the Kendrick Street Bridge, work will continue on setting the bearings and setting the structural steel. At Highland Avenue, work will continue on forming an reinforcing the east abutment walls and work will commence on the installation of the drainage and the backfilling of the west abutment. At the Central Avenue Bridge site, excavations and lagging for the central arch will be undertaken.

At Route 9, the work will focus on the installation of signal and power duct-banks and the installation of temporary traffic equipment and foundations.

It should be noted that in early September, the left-turn lanes and the cross over will be activated on Route 9. More information will provided when a date has been set. Please share this information with neighbors, friends, co-workers, family members or anyone else you think may benefit from it.

Issue full description

Throughout the week of July 13, 2015, Barletta Heavy Division (BHD), MassDOT’s contractor for the Route 128 Add-a-Lane Bridge V project, will continue construction operations. Work will be performed during both the standard working hours of 7:00AM to 3:00PM and third shift of 7:00PM to 5:00AM. During the third shift, construction activities will be located on both Route 9 and Route 128 mainline and require the closure of two highway lanes which is prohibited during standard working hours. Work on the mainline will include the installation of drainage in the median south of Kendrick Street and from the Railroad Bridge to Central Avenue, and the drainage component for a temporary cross over lane. Within standard working hours, work will take place on the Kendrick Street Bridge, Central Avenue Bridge, and the Highland Avenue Bridge. At the Kendrick Street Bridge, the work will continue on the installation of walls, striping the pier caps, and forming, reinforcing, and pouring the west abutment wall. At Highland Avenue, work will focus on the pouring of the west abutment walls and the forming and reinforcing the east abutment walls. At the Central Avenue Bridge site, excavations and lagging for the central arch will be undertaken. At Route 9, the work will focus on the removal of the existing guardrails and islands at Route 9 and the removal of the Route 9 median barrier. The work will also entail building an access road along the W1 Ramp, building the W1/W5 shoulder to widen ramps, and building the W1 and W5 ramps. Ramp W1 connects Route 9 westbound to Route 128/I-95 northbound and ramp W5 connects Route 9 eastbound to Route 128/I-95 northbound. It should be noted that in late August, the left-turn lanes and the cross over will be activated. More information will provided when a date has been set. Please share this information with neighbors, friends, co-workers, family members or anyone else you think may benefit from it. For more information about the project, visit the website. For questions or issues and concerns related to construction, please email the project’s public involvement specialist, Nathaniel Curtis.

Work will be performed during both the standard working hours of 7:00AM to 3:00PM and third shift of 7:00PM to 5:00AM.

During the third shift, construction activities will be located on the Route 128 mainline and require the closure of two highway lanes which is prohibited during standard working hours. Work on the mainline will include the installation of temporary barrier and stripping loam. Nighttime demolition of the center pier of the disused railroad bridge over Route 128 within the work zone is now complete.

On the nights of May 18th and 19th, the remains of the pier’s footing will be removed and other clean-up work performed. This operation generates less noise than the pier demolition. Within standard working hours, work will take place on the Kendrick Street Bridge and the Highland Avenue Bridge. At Kendrick Street, operations will focus on forming and pouring pier footings, columns, and caps and demolition of the east and west abutments. The installation of tiebacks and lagging will also be ongoing. At Highland Avenue, work will concentrate on forming and pouring of columns and abutments.

On Route 9, installation of erosion control measures is now complete. The project will now progress to installing signal and power duct banks, building a temporary access roadway along the ramp from Route 9 westbound to Route 128/I-95 northbound, and installing temporary barrier along the mainline of Route 9. As part of this work, operations will need to occur within the travel lanes. The roadway will be restriped and lanes shifted to provide BHD with a safe work zone. All lane shifts and lane takings will occur off peak to ensure the normal passage of rush hour traffic. For more information about the project, visit the website . For questions or issues and concerns related to construction, please email the project’s public involvement specialist, Nathaniel Curtis

The MA Dept. of Transportation will soon begin its multi-year construction through Needham, Newton and Wellesley on the last segment of the federally funded Add-A-Lane Project to widen Route 95/128 from Randolph to Route 9. (For updated information, go to: DOT public meeting report 12-22-2014 and Needham Heights June 2014 DOT presentation Technically, Newton is not included in the project description, since it only abuts the construction. However, the impacts of the construction will, most assuredly, affect Newton.

The design plan for intersection will eliminate two of the existing on-ramps from Route 9 to 128 and replace them with traffic lights which will stop Route 9 drivers to allow left turns on new north and south bound ramps onto Route 128. Since this area currently suffers from traffic backups at rush hour, we are concerned this new configuration will amplify the problem, both during construction and when construction is complete. Commuters will likely learn to avoid these delays by taking various side streets in Waban including, Quinobequin, Chestnut, Beacon, etc.

Week of May 4th, 2015

Throughout the week of May 4th, Barletta Heavy Division (BHD), MassDOT’s contractor for the Route 128 Add-a-Lane Bridge V project, will continue construction operations. Work will be performed during both the standard working hours of7:00AM to 3:00PM and a third shift of 7:00PM to 5:00AM.

During the third shift construction activities will be located on the Route 128 mainline and require the closure of two highway lanes which is prohibited during standard working hours. Work on the mainline will include the installation of temporary barrier. With regard to nighttime demolition work, additional noise mitigation measures have been put in place to protect the community including the hanging of noise baffle blankets and the use of more handheld equipment in lieu of machine mounted hoe rams. Nighttime demolition operations at the disused railroad bridge over Route 128 within the work zone is expected to be completed on or about May 5th. Nighttime demolition at the Kendrick Street Bridge is expected to be completed on or about May 6th.

Within the standard working hours, work will take place on the Kendrick Street Bridge, the Highland Avenue Bridge, and along Route 9. At Kendrick Street, operations will consist of the installation of tiebacks and lagging, the excavation and installation of retaining walls, as well as the relocation of Verizon telephone cables. At Highland Avenue work will focus on forming and reinforcing abutments and piers. Along Route 9, borings for drilled shafts will be taken; duct banks installed, and compost filler tubes positioned for erosion control. As part of the work on Route 9, utility work will need to occur within the travel lanes. Lanes will only be taken during off-peak hours to ensure the normal passage of rush hour traffic.

For more information about the project, visit the website For questions or issues and concerns related to construction, please email the project’s public involvement specialist, Nathaniel Curtis at ncabral-curtis@hshassoc.com.

Update for March 2015. The Needham-Wellesley Add-A-Lane Interstate 95 project

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) contractor for the Route 128 Add-A-Lane Bridge V Contract, Barletta Heavy Division (BHD) will continue to perform overnight demolition work during the third shift on Sunday, March 15, 2015. This schedule will be in place for two to three weeks. Third shift work hours are from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM.This work requires the closure of up to two travel lanes on Route 128 northbound or southbound. These lane closures are prohibited between 5:00 AM and 9:00 PM, necessitating the overnight work. Third shift work during this period of time will be located primarily on the Kendrick St Bridge.Activities during these work hours will include localized demolition of the concrete deck, including jack hammering and saw cutting, and removal of steel. Noise levels will be monitored during the work. BHD will implement appropriate noise control measures as needed. Vehicular travel will be maintained in the current configuration on all local roads.Work will also continue throughout the project limits during daytime shifts, between 7:00AM-3:00PM. Work will focus on the established Kendrick St work-zone, excavating for the installation of the new bridge and installation of underground utilities. Excavation work will also be performed at Highland Ave. All work will be restricted to within the established work-zones and will not impact the current traffic configuration.MassDOT continues to perform adjustments to the existing Kendrick St. Bridge. Work will begin to implement additional traffic measures in the form of increased signage, timing adjustments to the traffic signals at Hunting St and 3Rd Ave. MassDOT will also be line striping the Kendrick St. Bridge to accommodate evening commuting traffic in the Westerly direction.

Please visit the project Webpage for additional information on this project.

Bill Paille, Newton’s Director of Transportation (formerly of DOT) has shared a computer simulation created by the DOT’s consultant which shows traffic flowing well in 2030. Bill is convinced this will improve the traffic flow at this intersection. In response to our continued uneasiness about increased traffic through Waban, we requested traffic counts to be conducted to include an expanded list of streets from those counted by DOT. The City agreed to conduct this additional study and we are awaiting the results and analysis.

WAC concerns regarding the safety of the entry to Route 9 from Quinobequin/Williams St. were raised again at the April 2014 meeting. Mr. Bill Stebbins, the DOT consultant in attendance, assured us that the new traffic configuration, with traffic lights for north and south turns, would improve the safety conditions for Route 9 merging traffic from the Williams Street entry ramp. There will be an elongation of the barrier/abutment wall opposite the Wellesley Office Park complex. Mr. Paille has indicated that the design can still be further improved as construction moves along.

While we are delighted and comfortable working with our current Director of Transportation as our advocate, we remain uneasy about our lack of a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Newton and the DOT that would protect us in his absence. We believe that the City and the residents of Waban would be better served with a concrete statement for mitigation from DOT.

Alderman Brian Yates has docketed the following item with the Board of Aldermen:

#310-14 ALD. YATES requesting a RESOLUTION to His Honor the Mayor asking that the Director of Public Engagement develop a public outreach program in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation re the Add-a-Lane Project on Route 128, including but not limited to emails to aldermen and members of the Upper Falls, Waban, and Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Councils, and create a prominent link on the city’s website to the new Department of Transportation website page on the project [07-31-14 @12:12 PM].

We applaud this outreach by Alderman Yates on our behalf. We encourage Mayor Warren to remain engaged with this multi-year construction project and to assist residents facing adverse effects arising from it.